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December 27, 2009

Today, evangelical Christian Knights see heterosexual marriage as the primary bulwark against evil and societal collapse. They have concluded that (1) the traditional heterosexual marriage—and nuclear family—is the basic building block of society, (2) the United States of America was established by divine will to represent the virtue and idealism needed to transform the world for the better, and that (3) if the basic building block that made the United States strong collapses, then the nation—and God’s intention for the world—will collapse with it. Put another way, if you undermine traditional heterosexual marriage, you undermine everything.

Evangelical Christian Knights see humans as morally weak and inherently evil. They believe Satan attacks humans at the weakest point in their moral “armor,” and since they believe the Original Sin was sexual in nature, they believe Satan will attack via sexual temptation first. Sexual chastity and fidelity in marriage is therefore necessary to keep the United States strong and intact.

As a result, evangelical Christian Knights see homosexuality as selfish and aberrant, and believe homosexual marriage is not a harmless personal choice, but an attack—backed by Satan—against the integrity and strength of the United States. And since they believe the United States is God’s moral Knight among nations, this is also an attack against God’s intentions for the entire world. These are the reasons why evangelical Christian Knights support “defense of marriage” legislation, oppose homosexual marriage, and other efforts to protect the traditional (meaning two-parent nuclear) family. It is also why some evangelical Christian Knights work to reinforce the hierarchy and gender roles within the nuclear family along the lines seen in the classic TV show “Father Knows Best.” They believe the traditional, correctly-functioning nuclear family is not only divinely ordained, but the reason for the moral, economic and military supremacy of the United States during the postwar era. More than mere puritanical moralism (they often rankle at the charge of homophobia), evangelical Christian Knights see themselves as crusading to protect the world from the allied forces of Satan.